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Strega
Strega (ストレガ) is the 2nd film to be produced by [[Garage Hero|'Garage Hero']] and is a direct sequel to the indie tokusatsu production team's first film, Gun Caliber. Using the resources that he's gathered over an 8 year span, the film's producer and lead actor, Bueno, aims to shoot Strega as the indie tokusatsu production that he originally envisioned in 2010. Members of the cast from Gun Caliber once again appear while new characters are introduced with more adult themes, toilet humor, and stylized action sequences at the request of many fans. The film is hailed by many as "Kamen Rider meets Deadpool". The film made its debut at the Yubari Fantastic International Film Festival in Japan with a full audience and is slated various film festivals around the world later this year. A home video release is planned for late summer of 2019. Plot The Japanese government decides to even further regulate superheroes AND the overall populace using the Vector Card, a new ID system. Vector also happens to be a corporation that has been gradually extending its power behind the scenes. Our hero, Soma Kusanagi, is a foul-mouthed ruffian marked as a persona non-grata by not only the government, but also Vector. However, he's one of the only people who can equip the "Stray Buckle" which transforms him into the hero Strega. Due to his pariah status, Soma, the former Gun Caliber, is forced to keep his newfound identity of Strega secret from the public eye. When a mysterious, yet boisterous Vector Card hacker emerges with a sinister plot to turn all of Tokyo into monsters, Soma is partnered up with a new recruit, Sayuri. Tokyo's fate now depends on the two unlikely heroes rising to their greatest challenge yet. Characters to be added Cast * Bueno as "Soma Kusanagi/Strega" * Mai Miori as "Sayuri Matsuoka/Virsago" * Sakurako Fujiwara as "Izumi Sakurai" * Hideki Oka as "Daiki Kato" * Amita Hachidori as "Madman" * Ayane Haruna as "Momoyo/Heart Pink" * Keisaku Kimura as "Sakimori Yamato" Notes * The film's suits are made by Daisuke Komatsu who has worked on many major tokusatsu productions but also did work on the suits for Houjin Yatsurugi and [[Gaion Sigma|'Gaion Sigma']]. * The film's producer/director/lead actor, Bueno, trained for 2 years under Mr. Kamen Rider himself: [http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Seiji_Takaiwa Seiji Takaiwa] in preparation for Strega. Takaiwa coached Bueno to fine tune his basics but also introduced him to the art of "Kenjutsu". * Due to its size and weight, the "Buster Sword" prop is one of the most difficult weapons in Strega's arsenal. Bueno not only had to condition his arm muscles to use it, but worked with [http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Seiji_Takaiwa Seiji Takaiwa]' '''to '''develop a sword style' that would allow for ease of movement in the action scenes. * While viewers liked Gun Caliber for its fast-paced action sequences, their main complaint was that there wasn't enough of them. Upon taking said feedback, it was decided that Strega will have a total of 6 action sequences as opposed to Gun Caliber's 4'''. * The film's female lead, '''Mai Miori, is a former ballet champion in Europe and has studied contemporary ballet on Broadway. Because of her agility, flexibility, and sense of rhythm, it only took a day for Bueno to train her in the basics of action. * Hideki Oka (who plays as Vector President, Daiki Kato), is actually the director of many tokusatsu including [http://ultra.wikia.com/wiki/Ultraman_Saga_(film) Ultraman Saga], Madan Senki Ryukendo, Tomica Hero Rescue Force, Tomica Hero Rescue Fire, and Indonesian tokusatsu hero [[BIMA Satria Garuda|'BIMA Satria Garuda']]/Garuda Knight Bima-X. He's also the producer for Tetsu-Don, an international film circle originating from Japan which brings together both professional and tokusatsu film makers around the world. * The VFX in Strega is a major improvement from Gun Caliber thanks to the tutelage of VFX director Kiyoshi Hayashi (member of Japanese VFX company, Nippon Eizo Creative) who's work includes various [http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Kamen_Rider_Series/Heisei_Series Heisei Kamen Rider] shows such as Kamen Rider Fourze, Wizard, Gaim, Drive, Ghost, Ex-Aid, and Build. * The suit/armor designs were done by Singapore artist Gideon J Goh, who drew promotional art for Gun Caliber. He is also the main illustrator for the cover of the limited edition Bluray and VHS release of Strega. * Bueno planned an April Fool's joke with the help of many major online blogs in which he claimed to have sold the rights of Strega to Toei. The joke reached out to over 100,000 fans across the globe including Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Upon revealing the joke, many western fans of Toei were infuriated and showed their contempt for the film's production by instigating Garage Hero's SNS. Despite the backlash, Bueno and his crew managed to raise 5k on indiegogo to complete the film. Some saw this as a "desperate attempt at click-bait" while others saw it as a "genius way of promotion". * The film made its debut at the Yubari Fantastic International Film Festival held in Yubari, Hokkaido, Japan where it was selected as part of the festival's "Core Fanta" lineup. Part of the jury who selected the movie to screen at the festival was Japanese splatter film director Yoshihiro Nishimura (Dir. Tokyo Gore Police, Kodoku: Meatball Machine) who quote un quote said: "We've been wanting a dirty, sexy, toilet humored, adult oriented tokusatsu for awhile now and someone finally had the guts to make one....but he ain't even Japanese." It was also praised by Kamen Rider Blade actor Yuki Kuroda (Kamen Rider Glaive from Blade) with him jokingly saying: "I thought that 70% of the movie was going to be terrible, but was actually really impressed! Two thumbs up!" External Links * [https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/strega-a-japanese-superhero-action-comedy#/ Strega on IndieGoGo] * Garage Hero Official Website Category:Sterga Category:Garage Hero Category:Mature Category:Gun Caliber